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How many pieces are you composing at any given time?

Robert_G

The End is Near
I'm still in my first year of Cubase and composing, and I've been pretty much making one at a time. But I'm starting to wonder if that's a good habit to be into. My latest piece is fairly complex and I had composers block for over a week. I just couldn't get it together so I walked away for a week because I couldn't make sense of what I was doing for a certain part.

Thing is....I had many good ideas for other pieces in my head, but I chose to stay away from the composing for fear of never coming back to the first one

What are some good habits you pros use to keep a constant steady workflow without abandoning your other works?
 
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Working on 3-4 at the same time is god for me. The songs are usually in different stages and I get time to reflect over things. Sometimes I've had more songs going on but then I lost connection with some of the songs. I think you should experiment with what works best for you.
 
It depends whether I'm working to a deadline, then it's usually one at a time. But sometimes if a composition isn't advancing and it's not for any certain project, I might move on and return to it later on.
 
Some good advice here. Thank you. I let my narrow vision get to me. Im going to try 2 or 3 at a time for now, but ill stick with the initial one until i get into a dry spell.....hopefully that will help make better use of my time
 
Can only speak for myself, deadlines are good but lacking that I just need some sort of structure in place. Hardest thing in the world is a blank piece of paper with no guidelines. Things that help me: track name, genre, key sig, time sig, tempo, track length, structure (AABA, ABAB, ABCA, etc). I know that I can write in any key and any tempo, setting that ahead of time narrows down variables from infinite to just a couple of things to think about. Tell yourself Bm, 105bpm, 6/8 (or whatever)... give it a track name and go. I will use a spreadsheet to track progress of each track and typically work on a few dozen tracks simultaneously.
 
Can only speak for myself, deadlines are good but lacking that I just need some sort of structure in place. Hardest thing in the world is a blank piece of paper with no guidelines. Things that help me: track name, genre, key sig, time sig, tempo, track length, structure (AABA, ABAB, ABCA, etc). I know that I can write in any key and any tempo, setting that ahead of time narrows down variables from infinite to just a couple of things to think about. Tell yourself Bm, 105bpm, 6/8 (or whatever)... give it a track name and go. I will use a spreadsheet to track progress of each track and typically work on a few dozen tracks simultaneously.

very good advice

best

ed
 
deadlines...either get one or create one. They work wonders !

best

e

I love deadlines by clients. It always works. It's like magic. But only real deadlines. Creating own deadlines never work for me, because I can change them when ever I want. Any hidden trick to create an own deadline which I can't change afterwards?
 
I love deadlines by clients. It always works. It's like magic. But only real deadlines. Creating own deadlines never work for me, because I can change them when ever I want. Any hidden trick to create an own deadline which I can't change afterwards?

Tell somebody you don't want to let down. Or reach out and offer to submit something ( for a potential project ) , perhaps a Library...specify a date...don't wait for response and get writing.

best

e
 
Enter some competitions (instant deadline) and only allow yourself 8 hrs per finished minute (full orchestra) and see what you can come with compared to your usual workflow. To the OP, I usually have 3 or 4 open , concentrating on maybe 2, but also taking time out to contribute to sketches and my Box-o-Themes ;)
 
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If you have that many great ideas, start a sketchbook and hold on those ideas so that you are not losing them. Little pieces of information can help a lot when you have to come up with new music to a tight deadline.

Yes, deadlines are great and I would think strategically with all you do. Even if you don't have to meet a deadline or even if you are not composing for a project, still compose! Create your own library of tracks because there'll be the moment where you license a lot of tracks to your clients and then this is gonna feel like some easy and quick bucks on the side, although it's not true! :) ....
 
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